NBA All-Star Game ratings hit a record-low, but held up surprisingly well given the headwinds.
Sunday’s NBA All-Star Game, which included the Dunk Contest at halftime, averaged a combined 3.1 rating and 5.94 million viewers across TNT and TBS — down 24% in ratings and 18% in viewership from last year (4.1, 7.28M) and the lowest rated and least-watched edition of the game. [Related: NBA All-Star Game ratings history.]
Despite the low, the All-Star Game ranks as the highest rated NBA telecast of the season, edging ESPN and ABC’s Mavericks-Lakers Christmas Day game (3.0). It trails that game as the most-watched. It also ranks as the most-watched non-football sportscast since that Mavericks-Lakers game (7.01M), topping the hours-delayed Daytona 500 last month (4.83M) and the final round of last year’s November Masters (5.59M).
Far worse numbers could have been expected under the circumstances. The game had zero of the typical build-up, with no lead-in events on Friday or Saturday. It was a last-minute — and controversial — addition to the schedule, with star players in clear opposition. Finally, it aired opposite a ballyhooed celebrity interview on CBS that averaged Sunday Night Football-level viewership (17.8M).
More broadly, the majority of big-ticket sporting events over the past year have suffered far sharper declines, including last year’s months-delayed NBA Finals (-49%). Notably, the All-Star Game was on par with Game 3 of that finals, which had a 3.1 and 5.99 million opposite Sunday Night Football.
In the key young adult demographics, the All-Star Game ranked second for the night in adults 18-49 with a 2.4 rating. The aforementioned CBS interview had a 2.7. The game took top honors in adults 18-34, its 1.9 rating in the demo comfortably topping the 1.6 for CBS.
Leading into the All-Star Game, the Skills Challenge and Three-Point Shooting Contest averaged a 2.25 rating and 4.26 million viewers. The lead-out — the fourth and final part of the Inside the NBA documentary “The Inside Story,” averaged a series-high 1.36 million.
